Cao Ziye Commits the Blunder of a Lifetime!
Yuan Shao’s army numbered one hundred thousand. With defeated remnants still streaming in to be reorganized, The actual combat strength was closing in on 140,000 to 150,000. The sheer size was daunting enough, but watching them ferry supplies across the Yellow River on mengchong warships made one thing perfectly clear: Hebei was a broken, overpowered region.
“Their numbers keep swelling while we sit here scraping by, fighting with every scrap we can save…”
“Seen up close, their momentum is truly overwhelming. A magnificent host.”
Cao Ang stood at my side, staring at Yuan Shao’s vast army and clicking his tongue in disbelief. The two of us had spent so long campaigning with only a few thousand men that we had somehow reached a battlefield where armies of tens of thousands clashed.
“You’re going to be a father this summer, aren’t you?”
“Ziye, perhaps we shouldn’t talk about that on the battlefield…”
“We should. In fact, we must. Are we just going to stand here shaking at the sight of the enemy formation, wondering how we’re supposed to beat them?”
At times like this, the most important thing was to stay calm. Cao Ang finally caught my meaning and gave a small smile.
“Her cravings have grown more demanding by the day, and the morning sickness is terrible. If it weren’t for this war, I would be right by her side taking care of her.”
Cao Ang’s wife was due first. By the time the Battle of Guandu ended, he would finally be able to see his child’s face. I hoped it would be a son. Everything would be perfect then, a free pass in every sense.
“Ziye, I hear your wives and concubines are all pregnant at once. Aren’t you worried?”
“Of course I’m worried. But how can I leave this place? I have to win first, then I can go back.”
Chatting about the children soon to be born, we finished arranging the army’s deployment.
“General of the Vanguard, preparations are complete!”
“Colonel, your division is also fully prepared.”
I would lead the vanguard. Cao Ang would command the archers, providing covering fire and protecting my flanks. I held the center, with Zhang Liao and Xu Chu on the left wing and Dian Wei and Xu Huang on the right. We were ready to charge the moment Cao Cao gave the order.
Yet Cao Cao did not move. It was only natural.
“The ideal scenario is for the enemy to come to us first. Then the left, center, and right wings strike together, shattering their front line and raising our morale.”
A simple, reliable way to boost an army’s spirit in open battle. No matter how many enemies there were, when our armored, mounted generals charged at the front and brutally cut them down, every soldier would see that our army was stronger. Morale would rise on its own.
I was confident. No, not just me—Zhang Liao, Dian Wei, Xu Chu, and Xu Huang would all charge the same way and slaughter the enemy without hesitation.
“Yuan Shao is showing off. He wants to intimidate us with sheer numbers.”
As Cao Cao said, the picture we wanted was the enemy attacking first while we fought valiantly. But Yuan Shao refused to play along. He had the same idea: if both sides simply waited, our army’s morale would slowly crumble.
“In the end, this battle has become a contest of who can endure longer and raise their troops’ spirits first.”
Cao Cao came to the center formation where Cao Ang and I waited and spoke directly.
Whenever a situation reached this point, someone always stepped forward.
“Is the Chancellor’s army just going to sit here staring at Yuan Shao’s ugly face?”
“Xiahou Dun…”
Even Xiahou Dun had begun to restrain himself from calling Cao Cao by his childhood name “Aman” in formal settings. And right now, he was exactly the man we needed.
“Give me three thousand cavalry! I’ll show them that numbers mean nothing!”
“Yuanrang, look carefully. That is an army of nearly 150,000. Even if you take the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry at the start of battle, the casualties will be enormous.”
“Then I’ll just have to crush twice that number with my three thousand. If you’re trying to preserve your generals, send me!”
Xiahou Dun had volunteered to make the first move. As Cao Cao considered it, Cao Hong approached as well.
“Elder Brother, I will go with Uncle Yuanrang.”
“Zilian, you’re volunteering? That’s unusual.”
“There are plenty of fierce generals around you already. Let us open the way. Even if it’s dirty work before the decisive blow, we will do it.”
In terms of rank and seniority, Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong stood far above Dian Wei, Zhang Liao, and Xu Huang. Yet they both understood. Someone had to act as bait to make Yuan Shao’s massive army move.
“Very well. If your resolve is this firm, then we must strike first! I permit it!”
Cao Cao embraced both men.
“Don’t die.”
“We won’t.”
“You know me, don’t you?”
Cao Cao gave each of them five thousand troops, forming a single ten-thousand-strong army that charged toward Yuan Shao’s host of one hundred and fifty thousand. A tiny force taking the initiative against a vast army—an absurd sight. Yet the left, center, and right wings all understood what it meant.
“Uncle Yuanrang… Uncle Zilian…”
Cao Ang clenched his fists tightly, silently cheering for his two uncles.
“Prepare yourselves. We move exactly as my uncle commands.”
“Understood.”
Cao Cao’s order was clear. While Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong tore through Yuan Shao’s lines, if the situation turned against them, we were to advance in support immediately. If Xiahou Dun veered toward the left wing, Zhang Liao and Xu Chu would move. If Cao Hong headed for the right, Dian Wei and Xu Huang would answer. And if they came toward the center, Cao Ang and I would ride out to help.
We watched the army’s every movement without missing a beat.
Yuan Shao’s great army remained as solid as a wall even as Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong rampaged through it. I had expected them to be surrounded at once, but they simply held their formation and let their own troops deal with the intruders.
“That fox is refusing to budge and sticking to proper tactics. He really is as relaxed as his face suggests.”
I had thought that once a small force like Xiahou Dun’s or Cao Hong’s began tearing through his lines, Yuan Shao would lose his temper and charge out with his vanguard. Instead, every time our vanguard disrupted them, he calmly fed fresh troops from the rear and fought by the book.
“Ziye, Uncle Zilian is heading toward the center! We must—”
“Not yet!”
“!?”
Xun You had run all the way to the front line, already in armor. He saluted Cao Ang and me.
“The enemy has not yet shown an opening. When our lord spoke of a critical situation, he meant one in which our cavalry and infantry become entangled in chaotic melee and escape becomes impossible.”
“But, Gongda! Must we simply watch this happen before our eyes?”
“Zisu, don’t worry. Both uncles are strong.”
Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong fought desperately, weaving through the enemy lines to inflict as much damage as possible. Yet Yuan Shao’s army moved with textbook precision. By the time the sun set, they returned.
In the first clash, ten thousand men had charged in and struck an enemy force more than twice their size. They inflicted thousands of casualties, yet Yuan Shao’s army remained rock-solid. The second day was the same. On the third day, Dian Wei could bear it no longer. He charged out, rescued Xiahou Dun—the man he had once served—and his right-wing troops routed three thousand of the enemy before safely extracting Xiahou Dun’s force.
Fifteen days passed like that.
“Hah… to think he would choose a war of attrition in this situation. How incredibly annoying.”
Cao Cao was growing visibly tired of Yuan Shao’s immovable army. Unlike Yuan Shu, Lu Bu, or Sun Ce, who could be lured out by provocation and then crushed through superior tactics and generalship despite being outnumbered, Yuan Shao simply raised an iron shield and refused to overextend. He endured stubbornly. The side doing the attacking grew far more exhausted. Cao Cao knew it was time to prepare his next move.
“Should we fall back to Guandu Castle and prepare for a siege?”
“Not yet, my lord.”
Cheng Yu stepped forward. Liu Ye also examined the situation and nodded.
“My lord, this is a letter sent by Colonel Cheng.”
Cheng Yu had continued scouting around Jiancheng and reported the latest developments. Cao Cao read the letter and clutched his head.
“The general attacking Henei is so outstanding that Zixiao is struggling just to hold him back.”
Even with Cao Ren defending the castle and Yu Jin and Gao Shun’s troops present, the enemy was still pressing the attack? Whoever it was, he was clearly an exceptional commander.
“Therefore we must endure a little longer and shake Yuan Shao’s army.”
“How?”
“If we continue this war of attrition, our side will be the first to run dry. In such a situation, the way for a smaller army to defeat a larger one is, as always, to take the enemy generals’ heads.”
“Mm!”
“We must reduce the number of enemy commanders one by one, stripping away every card Yuan Shao can play.”
“Correct. Just as we took Yan Liang and Wen Chou, we must now secure the heads of other clear enemy generals.”
Cao Cao listened to Xun You and Liu Ye, then let out a long breath.
“So we gather every remaining cavalry unit, drive straight into their vanguard, and aim for a decisive strike.”
“However, if it fails, our cavalry operations will suffer enormous setbacks until reinforcements arrive.”
When Liu Ye spoke with concern, Cao Cao burst into laughter.
“Hahaha!”
He slammed his fist on the table as if making up his mind.
“We have already come this far! What use is there in holding back now? How long do we plan to cling to our cavalry? As you all say, if a single bold attack can take the heads of two or three enemy generals, it is a gamble worth taking!”
In the end, Cao Cao chose an extreme path even in this situation. A single massive melee that would pierce the vanguard, take enemy generals’ heads, strike at Yuan Shao’s main camp, and shatter the man’s spirit. It would be an unimaginably chaotic battle.
And so Cao Cao’s entire cavalry force sortied.
“Cover me well, Zisu! I won’t be coming back until I’ve taken an enemy general’s head!”
As Yuan Shao’s vast army poured down countless arrows, we answered with covering fire of our own. While arrows darkened the sky, I led four thousand cavalry from the center division and smashed straight through the middle.
While the first line clashed, Zhang Liao and Dian Wei had already broken through on both wings, charging forward with nothing but raw power. I gritted my teeth.
“We must produce clear results—decisive ones!”
BOOM!
We shattered the first line, riding the sheer momentum of the cavalry charge to trample the enemy infantry and burst through. Against an army of over one hundred thousand we pushed forward recklessly, never stopping. Seeing Zhang Liao and Dian Wei’s troops driving deeper, I poured on even more speed.
“Colonel! We see no enemy generals, only infantry!”
“That just means we drive deeper! If we reach the vanguard’s camp, they’ll have no choice but to send them out!”
One path was clear. As we pushed forward, I noticed something strange. The wings were surprisingly solid, yet the center had opened up easily. With so many troops packed tightly together in perfect order, they couldn’t even use the usual archer traps I had felt on the first day.
“Did Yuan Shao operate so strictly by the book that he failed to account for the unpredictability of cavalry?”
No, it was the opposite. We were using unpredictable cavalry precisely to disrupt his textbook formation and drag him into the mud.
At that moment, a banner reading “Sun” flew toward Zhang Liao’s troops. Sun Yuqing! And toward Dian Wei’s forces flew a banner with “Gao.” Was that Gao Lan?
If even one of those two died here, it would be a tremendous gain. While that happened, I drove straight into the enemy vanguard.
“Yuan Shaooooo!”
“What insolence!”
Yuan Shao sat on horseback in the main camp, bow in hand, aiming at our soldiers. Even with us this close, he showed no agitation. Like a demon king, he had positioned a dense wall of elite guard cavalry in front of him.
Then I saw a familiar face. Yuan Xi.
“You fake son of a eunuch’s grandson! This time I’ll finally—”
BOOM!
After one exchange, Yuan Xi was hurriedly pushed back. I had heard Yuan Shao had two sons on this battlefield. There was Yuan Xi here, and another rather handsome fellow commanding the guard troops. A general with fair skin, a splendid beard, and neat attire.
Was that Yuan Shang?
Even better. If I took the head of a general who also carried Yuan Shao’s blood right in front of him, the entire Yuan army’s spirit would collapse exactly as Cao Cao hoped!
Clang! Clang!
While fighting Yuan Xi, I aimed for his horse to secure the kill.
“You bastard, this is—”
Slash!
“Guh!”
The horse’s neck flew off. Yuan Xi lost his balance and tumbled among the soldiers. Falling from a horse in that chaos would at least leave him badly wounded. As I moved in to finish him, the handsome general came charging.
Clang!
“How dare you aim for another man’s life!”
“You.”
If Yuan Xi wouldn’t do, then Yuan Shang was even better. Without him, the Yuan army would tear itself apart!
The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry that had followed me desperately burned their last embers, fighting magnificently. For the first time, Yuan Shao’s face twisted. He drew his sword and tried to rush out. I swung my spear at the blood relative before me.
Clang—
The spear was deflected. The man seized the opening and charged. It was the same situation as with Wen Chou before. So I did the same—drawing the sword at my waist.
Shing—
“!?”
Slaaaaaash—
In a single instant, I took the head of Yuan Shao’s blood relative.
“M-My son!!!!!!”
The moment the head was taken, it was time to retreat.
“Withdraw! The only thing that matters is returning alive to our own lines!”
Zhang Liao and Dian Wei were driving even deeper. Seeing the enemy lines falling into chaos, Cao Cao brought the entire army forward. Yuan Shao had been struck squarely in a vital spot by a completely unexpected blow.
“Hehehe, so this is an enemy general’s head? And one of the sons Yuan Shao cherished!”
Cao Cao’s face, which had been clouded with hardship, finally brightened as he laughed. My whole body was drenched in blood. I had only just recovered from my previous injuries, and now I was so battered I felt I could pass out at any moment. Still, after giving my battle report, I would receive treatment, take a bath, then collapse into deep sleep.
“Everyone, look. The head inside this box belongs to one of Yuan Shao’s bloodline. Just as I said, we drove into the vanguard and took an enemy general’s head.”
“However, we lost nearly sixty percent of the center cavalry. The survivors all suffered severe wounds…”
“It was worth more than that.”
Cao Cao lifted the box and opened the lid.
“One of Yuan Shao’s sons? Let me see my nephew’s face. Which son’s head is—”
It was then. The relaxed smile on Cao Cao’s face froze the instant he saw the head inside the box. It twisted rapidly.
“E-Eugh?!”
Cao Cao was shocked at the sight of an enemy general’s severed head? Why?
“N-No, this… what is this?!”
“Uncle, what’s wrong? Did I take the wrong head?”
“No… no. I know this face!”
At that moment Xun You and Xiahou Dun approached and examined the head together with Cao Cao. Both of them made extremely strange expressions.
“This is… the head of the Governor of Qingzhou, is it not?”
“Correct. This is Yuan Tan.”
…………What? What?????
“He is the eldest son, but I heard he had been sent to a sinecure in Qingzhou. How could he be in the main camp…? I thought the two sons of Yuan Shao present on this battlefield were the second son Yuan Xi and the third son Yuan Shang.”
Oh, shit… I had charged in with my life on the line, driven all the way into Yuan Shao’s main camp, and taken the head of his son right before his eyes. And of all people… it was Yuan Tan. Yuan Tan!
I had changed history. And not just a little. I had changed it so much that the future was now completely impossible to predict.